Snow in Buffalo is hardly newsworthy. For some, snow is a chance to stay home, drink hot chocolate, go sledding and maybe even build a snowman. But UB students know better and are forced to schlep to class in unnecessarily difficult conditions.
The snow removal procedure, as listed on the University Facilities Web site, is clearly laid out for most areas except walkways and sidewalks. Oftentimes this leads to below average conditions for students who live in residence halls and on-campus apartments. The walkway and sidewalk snow removal service is substandard and must be given more attention.
Plowing and shoveling services have been provided for years by University Facilities. First, the roads encircling the campus are cleared to allow emergency access for motorists. Next, the parking lots are plowed, starting with the academic and service lots, and ending with the residential lots. Lastly, the walkways are cleared.
Ground crew workers work throughout the day to manage the snow, but the amount of workers is insufficient to handle the walkways. According to the Director of Facilities Operations Louis Schmitt, there are about 40 year-round grounds workers.
During the winter, a majority of the workers battle the snow on the roads and in parking lots via snowplow. After this, about seven workers are delegated to manually clear snow off all the walkways on the university-approximately four workers on North Campus and three on South Campus.
As most students know it is a journey from one end of the academic spine to the other, so a scant seven workers shoveling all of UB is certainly not enough to clear the trails between residence halls, buildings and parking lots. Though the workers begin their labor at 6 a.m., it does not give them enough time to clear everything. Many students have morning classes starting as early as 8 a.m. It is impossible for University Faculties employees to clear all the walkways and sidewalks for these students in that time.
In addition to the grueling demands of snow removal, these few workers must also complete other jobs around campus. They are multi-task custodians, performing duties such as clearing garbage and the campus in addition to their snow duties. These other tasks divert the focus and therefore slow down the clearing process.
Besides increasing the difficulty of student travel on campus, the delayed snow removal also poses a safety hazard for students. The slush build-up drastically increases the chances of students getting injured, which can bring lawsuits to the university.
University Facilities needs to rethink the snow removal policies on walkways for the benefit and safety of the students and faculty. Either a new plan of action must be implemented for snow removal or more workers must be hired. Everyone knows it is going to snow in Buffalo, and is about time the school learns to deal with it fully and efficiently.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
